Fairpoint Files For Bankruptcy

Governor John Baldacci says the state will be involved in the bankruptcy process for FairPoint Communications.The state has retained a special bankruptcy lawyer to monitor the case and protect the interests of Maine customers, according to the governor.The telecommunications company filed for bankruptcy on Monday, as part of a debt restructing deal they have reached with their banks.More than half of Fairpoint’s debt will be eliminated from their books, taking them from $2.7 billion in debt, down to $1 billion.Company CEO David Hauser says the move shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, and it’s good news for the long-term financial health of the company.Hauser adds the restructing will not affects operations or customer services, and customer billing and payment schedules will not change.”There is no doubt that fairpoint went through a difficult time. Much of that is behind us now, we get a lot of positive comments on customer service. So customer service haas improved dramatically. That being said, we need to improve further,” says Hauser.Hauser adds that Fairpoint could be looking at layoffs at some time in the future.He says the company continues to have a dialogue with their unions.